Paradise Lost By Milton Essays (1086 words) - Fallen Angels

Paradise Lost By Milton Leaving the underworld, once again, defeated by the heavens. Although John Milton's epic poem, Paradise Lost, is considered to be a tragedy, it displays some reminders of a comic end. In its tenth book, when Satan returns to hell, there is the realization of two of the poem's purposes: to "assert Eternal Providence" and to "justify the ways of God to men." Book Ten is the end of Satan's epic journey, portraying his return to hell. Throughout the poem, Satan, a figure of legendary signifigance, goes on a heroic quest. A quest in which he seeks power over God's creations, Adam and Eve, to prove he will not be subjected to God's ways. Satan's passing into God's paradise, the Garden of Eden, unveils his valour. He uses his superhuman forces to transform himself into a serpent and deceive Eve into eating a fruit from the forbidden tree of knowledge. This proves to be a tragic decision on his part, for when he returns home from his quest, he and the rest of the residents of hell are transformed into serpents. This is their punishment for betraying the ways of God. Satan's journey follows the usual tragic pattern, ending in horror. Due to fact that Satan is an evil character, and attempts to use God's own creation against him, it is difficult for some to believe that he is the hero in this epic story. In fact, Francis C. Blessington thinks of Satan as not a classical hero but a classical villain: Satan is made the archetype of the sophistical rhetoric, the shallow egotism, and the Stajan 2 destructive pride, the vices of the classical epic as well as of the classical world. In addition, he is the perversion of the classical heroic virtues. He often begins by resembling a victim, sometimes even a perversion of that.... [He is] not a classical hero but a classical villain who unheroically defeats creatures far below him in stature (18). Though he may not seem to be a hero to the conventional person, he still is the hero to the many leaders and followers in the depths of hell. He believes that God is wrong in his ways, and therefore tries to build an empire to replace the one in heaven. He has all of the characteristics of a heroic figure; "Indeed, you can't be really bad unless you do have most of the virtues. Look at Milton's Satan for example. Brave, strong, generous, loyal, prudent, temperate, self-sacrificing" (Bush 72). He is the heroic figure, who believes that he can be better than God. However, he finds that he is not powerful enough, and is brought to a tragic end. Although Satan and the rest of his followers are tragically defeated, there are still reminders of comedy toward the end of this epic. When Satan sets out on his quest, his goal is to corrupt Adam and Eve, and persuade them to betray God. He accomplishes this task, and rejoices in victory: For in possession such, not only of right, I call ye and declare ye now, returned Successful beyond hope, to lead ye forth Triumphant out of this infernal pit Abominable, accursed, the house of woe, And dungeon of our tyrant!" (Milton, X. 461-466). This accomplishment in itself is a huge deal for Satan and his followers. It is because of him that man is disobedient, resulting in the harsh punishments bestowed on the human race, by God. Stajan 3 In hopes of turning God's na?ve creation against him. He succeeds in his quest; the devil himself is the main reason for hard child labour, death for all humans and the extinction of paradise. To Satan, this is victory; this is his comic end. Throughout the poem, Milton repeatedly "[justifies] the ways of God to men." In Book X, when Satan returns to hell and informs his followers of his victory, they hiss at him. They cannot help but hiss, for the reason that God turns them all into snakes and serpents. God is in the right when he does this; after all, Satan corrupted the entire human race. Satan persuades the naive Eve into thinking that if she disobeys God, and eats an apple from the tree of knowledge, life will improve. So as a punishment, God gives the snakes and serpents, "parched with scalding thirst and hunger," sodom thirst-quenching apples (Milton, X. 556). These apples look to be appetizing, but instead they dissolve into ashes when plucked from the tree. This punishment is a